Clarification on PowerShield "LiPo Charging Only" statement

[HeneryH]

Silly question but...   it seems like I can power the unit through the USB port without a LiPo installed.

So is it fair to say the the restriction on the USB is really "Power/Charging Only"?

[HeneryH]

Nevermind, it appears to NOT work without the LiPo even though some of the LEDs light up.

[Felix]

The whole point of the PowerShield is to use it with a battery.
The USB only provides power to the charger, it does nothing else. The charger chip might provide power to the VBAT bus which powers the booster and it may function.
But I consider this out of spec, the charger chip assumption is that there is a LiPo battery if you plug the USB.

[HeneryH]

I had some extras lying around and wanted to repurpose them as a simple carrier and USB power supply for a Moteino.  Couldn't do that because I didn't have extra batteries.